Category: Science

SpaceX launched four people into space Monday evening on a first-ever human mission to orbit Earth’s polar regions. If successful, the mission also will be the first to cultivate mushrooms as a crop. (Image credit: SpaceX)

The James Webb Space Telescope has taken its first look at the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 before a perilous close approach in 2032. The telescope confirmed Earth is safe, but the moon may still be in trouble.

The partial solar eclipse on March 29 wowed skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere.

A stone tool discovery in China rewrites the human story of Middle Paleolithic era in East Asia

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and primary contractor Amentum integrate the SLS (Space Launch System) Moon rocket with the solid rocket boosters onto mobile launcher 1 inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Artemis II is the first crewed test flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step toward missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future human missions to Mars.

Imagine an ice cube floating in a glass of water. Eventually, it will melt down to a tiny frozen speck before disappearing. As it shrinks, its surface gets smoother, and any irregularities or sharp edges gradually vanish. Mathematicians want to understand this process in greater detail, to be able to say exactly how the surface of the ice — or, say, the shape of a gradually eroding sandcastle… Source

A Michigan resident has died from rabies following a kidney transplant at a hospital in Ohio. Investigations show that the donor had the virus when they died.

A powerful X1.1-class solar flare was released by the sun on March 28, resulting in radio blackouts across North and South America

This tiny bird sculpture was created 40,000 years ago by early humans in Europe who carved the key animals in their lives.

It seems like artificial intelligence is everywhere in our virtual lives. It’s in our search results and our phones. But what happens when AI moves out of the chat and into the real world? NPR science editor and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel took a trip to the Intelligence through Robotic Interaction at Scale Lab at Stanford University to see how scientists are using AI to power robots and the large hurdles that exist for them to perform even simple tasks. Read Geoff’s full story . Interested in more AI stories? Email us your ideas at shortwave@npr.org .

Researchers discover that the most advanced AI models may lie to their users when under pressure.

Case reports of people with atypical brains reveal the human brain’s staggering ability to adapt to damage.

Archaeologists are unsure why unrelated teenagers were buried in an elaborate Bronze Age tomb but think their age may be a clue.

Nitrogen comprises around 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, so why do most lifeforms breathe oxygen?